[Yonhap]
The BOK said the deficit was estimated at $620 million, compared to a surplus of $682 million a year before. The shortfall came after the current account returned to a surplus of $880 million in October.
The current account, a broad measure of a nation’s global trade in goods and services as well as net earnings on cross-border investment, recorded a surplus of $24.37 billion in the first 11 months of last year, less than one third of $82.24 billion a year ago.
The country saw its exports slide 12.3 percent year-on-year to $52.32 billion in November due to falling demand for semiconductors, chemical products and other key export items amid a global economic downturn.
Semiconductor shipments plunged 28.6 percent, followed by exports of chemical products and steel products which shrank 16 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, the country’s imports rose 0.6 percent year-on-year to $53.88 in November due to the rising global prices of oil and gas as well as other raw materials.
The service account also suffered a deficit of $340 million, compared to a short fall of $270 million in November 2021.
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